Sip, bite, sip again, savor, repeat: ‘May LASA’ pairs Filipino craft chocolate with Australian wine

At Currency Cafe + Lounge, LASA TSOKOLATE by LPC and Tastemakers brought together three single-origin chocolates, Brown Brothers wines, and a shared history that began at UP Diliman.

Before they came together over chocolate and wine, Odie Pineda, Geraldine “Dindi” Feliciano, and Dale Campos shared a university connection. All three studied in the Hotel, Restaurant, and Institution Management program at the University of the Philippines Diliman’s College of Home Economics, with Pineda four years ahead of Feliciano and Campos.

The group reconnected earlier this year to bring their respective interests to the same table. On October 24, 2026, from 3 to 5 PM, they hosted May LASA at Currency Café + Lounge in Makati: an afternoon pairing Filipino bean-to-bar chocolate with Australian wine.

Pineda, of Tastemakers, guided the wine pairing, while Feliciano and Campos introduced guests to the cacao and chocolate-making behind their brand, LASA TSOKOLATE by LPC. Three single-origin 75% dark chocolates were paired with three Brown Brothers wines.

The event’s name carried a little wordplay. In Filipino, may lasa means “it has flavor,” while LASA is the chocolate maker at the center of the gathering.

Feliciano and Campos were friends and classmates during their college years at UP Diliman. In 2022, they launched LASA TSOKOLATE by LPC, a small, women-led Filipino bean-to-bar craft chocolate business based in Parañaque.

Working directly with local cacao farmers, they make chocolates that highlight the beans’ inherent flavors without additives, artificial flavoring, or substitutes. The name lasa, reflects that focus.

Their work also has an educational purpose: helping consumers recognize that craft chocolate has its own stories, character, and flavors, with more to describe than sweetness or a chocolatey taste.

Through chocolate bars, creative chocolate snacks, gift sets, and events, the makers hope to encourage appreciation of Filipino-made chocolate—and of the origins and craftsmanship behind each piece.

Guests happily complied with their reminder: LASApin, huwag madaliin. Savor it, don’t rush it.

The afternoon began with “The World of Tsokolate,” a talk by the LASA team covering chocolate’s history, production, and tasting.

The discussion traced cacao’s roots in Mesoamerica around 1900–1500 BCE, its arrival in the Philippines under Spanish rule, and the cacao belt—the band around the equator where cacao grows, which includes the Philippines.

Guests were also introduced to the work that happens on the farm and in chocolate production. The presentation covered growing Criollo, Forastero, and Trinitario cacao; and the 12 steps including harvesting, fermenting, drying, sorting, roasting, cracking and winnowing, grinding and refining, conching, tempering, and packing.

Then came tasting, using sight, smell, sound, and taste. Guests appreciated their reassurance: “There are no right or wrong tasting notes.”

With the help of Currency Café + Lounge, the experience invited guests to slow down and explore the chocolates and wines separately before tasting them together. Guided conversation also drew attention to the people, ingredients, and craftsmanship behind the chocolate.

Origin was part of that discussion, and we learned that the chocolate’s character and flavors are influenced by the cacao pod’s growing environment, genetics, post-harvest techniques, and the chocolate-making process.

We asked Feliciano and Campos what they would like for people to appreciate about the Filipino cacao and craftsmanship behind their bars, because they encourage us to look beyond the chocolate’s sweetness and cacao percentage. 

They share, “We want people to know that Filipino cacao is dynamic. Given that we are made up of thousands of islands with different climate and conditions, Philippine chocolate as an origin is not enough to describe the flavors our country can offer through chocolates. Each region and each estate can offer different flavor profiles that are worth highlighting.”

Elaborating further, “Through our chocolate bars, we hope to tell stories from each source. Each bar will be about the farmer’s dedication to growing and processing their cacao, and the chocolate maker’s intentional approach that gives respect to the source. Craft chocolate makers, like us, highlight the flavors from the source, not hide them.”

Apart from that, they emphasize that they hope guests during the event walked away realizing not only the hard work that goes into crafting a bar of chocolate, “But the fact that we, as Filipinos, have the capability to produce chocolates that can proudly stand alongside chocolate brands from abroad that we have grown to love.”

Guests had an opportunity to taste and purchase LASA’s newest products: special-edition single-origin chocolate bars offered at the event before their public availability.

Each guest received samples of the three bars on a tray, beside tasting mats identifying the wines and the chocolates’ origins.

The Iligan bar used cacao grown in Pindugangan, Iligan City, Mindanao. Tupi’s cacao came from Tupi, South Cotabato, Mindanao, while Isabela’s came from Isabela Province in Luzon.

All three were 75% dark chocolates, each matched with a different Brown Brothers wine.

The wines came from Brown Brothers, a family winery in Victoria, Australia, that has been making wine since 1889. In the Philippines, the wines are imported and distributed by Unitetris.

Pineda built the pairings around five guidelines. The wine should be at least as sweet as the chocolate. Heavy tannins were avoided because, in the pairing guidance, they turn harsh alongside 75% dark chocolate. Intensity also mattered: neither the wine nor the chocolate should overwhelm the other.

Another consideration was finding fruit notes shared by the wine and chocolate. Finally, a pairing could work through either complementary or contrasting flavors. These considerations led to three wines described as light, fruit-forward, and soft.

Brown Brothers Moscato, a sweet white with peach, apricot, and orange notes, was paired with Iligan.

Brown Brothers Cienna, a light sweet red made from a grape bred in Australia, brought cherry and strawberry notes to its pairing with Tupi.

Brown Brothers Dolcetto & Syrah, a soft, fruity red with blueberry and blackcurrant notes, was matched with Isabela.

The tasting followed a simple and fun sequence: sip, bite, sip again, savor, and enjoy.

We asked Pineda what he hoped guests would discover about the flavors when pairing wine with Filipino craft chocolate. The sommelier shares his insights, “I want people to discover that Filipino chocolates have their own unique flavors, and that these flavors can become even more interesting when paired with wine.”

He believes that it is an experience that brings together two different cultures through the shared idea of terroir, or how the land, climate, and nature can influence the flavors of what we produce.

Pineda continues, “What’s fascinating about the wine and chocolate pairing is that the experience goes beyond simply combining their individual flavors. It’s not just a case of 1+1=2. When paired together, they can create something entirely new.”

A great example for Pineda is when we paired the Moscato with the Iligan Chocolate: “Coming together to remind you of a mango crepe with almonds.”

According to Pineda, the beauty of it is that it creates new flavor experiences that you might not have discovered otherwise, and that our personal references affect what we perceive.

May LASA took place at Currency Café + Lounge on the ground floor of Kaija Building in Makati.

We asked general manager Hezi Rance what drew him to hosting May LASA and how an intimate tasting like this fit into the experience he envisions for guests at Currency. 

Rance shares, “When Odie and the LASA team brought the idea to us, it was an easy yes. I’ve always loved wine, but I was surprised to learn how much winemaking and chocolate-making have in common, from growing the grapes and the cacao to fermentation and the influence of terroir.” 

He concludes, “It also felt fitting for a place called Currency: an exchange not just of wine and chocolate, but of stories, knowledge, and appreciation for the craft behind both. We’re building more reasons for people to visit our ground-floor café and wine bar during the day, and intimate experiences like this are exactly what we have in mind: good drinks, good company, and a chance to learn something new, especially from Filipino makers.”

The venue has two floors with different settings. Its ground floor operates as a bright café and wine bar from 11 AM to 6 PM, Monday to Saturday, with Happy Hour wines in the afternoon. From 6 PM, the evening moves to the basement lounge for cocktails, sharing plates, and music at a volume that allows conversation.